Last checked at 4 Mar 2014 10:35
4 March 2014
Rare Earth Minerals Plc.
("Rare Earth Minerals", "REM" or "the Company")
REM increases holding in Bacanora Minerals to 5%
Rare Earth Minerals (AIM: REM) announces that it has increased its shareholding in Bacanora Minerals Limited ("Bacanora") to 5%, from the previously reported 3.17%, through further on-market purchases totaling £317,000. This interest, when aggregated with REM's 30% direct interest in the Fleur- El Sauz Joint Venture, results in a total economic interest in the Fleur- El Sauz Lithium Joint Venture in northern Mexico with Bacanora of approximately 33.5%.
David Lenigas, the Company's Chairman, commented:
"Tesla Motor's news in recent days, of their plans to build a "Gigafactory" in the United States to produce significant quantities of lithium ion batteries and its potential effect on increasing global demand for lithium, has accelerated REM's ambition of increasing the Company's overall exposure to the Sonora Lithium Project in northern Mexico."
"We currently own 30% of the expanding Fleur- El Sauz Lithium Project and we are now seeking to increase our ownership of our joint venture partner, Bacanora. The Sonora Lithium Project, which includes Bacanora's 100% owned La Ventana deposit and our joint venture on the Fleur- El Sauz concessions already has drill defined NI 43-101 compliant inferred resources totaling over 2.3 million tonnes of Lithium Carbonate. At current representative prices of between $5,000 and US$6,000 per tonne for battery grade Lithium Carbonate, the Sonora project is a very significant lithium resource in terms of the potential value of lithium in the ground."
"The Company expects this gross resource to improve significantly once the latest drilling results have been processed from the Stage 2 drilling programme."
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For further information please contact:
Rare Earth Minerals plc +44 (0) 207 440 0647
David Lenigas
Kiran Morzaria
WH Ireland Limited (NOMAD & Joint Broker) +44 (0) 207 220 1666
James Joyce
Nick Field
Hume Capital plc (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 203 693 1470
Guy Peters
Jon Belliss
Square1 Consulting
David Bick +44 (0) 207 929 5599
Mark Longson